One of the most prolific of the pulp fictioneers, Frederick Faust had dozens of stories appearing under nearly 20 pennames, including Max Brand, George Owen Baxter and George Challis. Faust's first story appeared in 1917 and they continued appearing in the pulps and the slicks until he was killed as a war correspondent in Europe during World War II. He wrote Westerns, mysteries, spy stories and created the characters Destry and Dr. Kildare.

Frederick Schiller Faust sold his first story in 1917, and within months, was selling regularly to the pulps. Drawing on his experience as a cowhand on a ranch in California, Faust, writing as Max Brand, sold his first Western, The Untamed, to All-Story in 1919. It was the first in the genre that earned him long-lasting fame.

Some have conferred the "King of the Pulps" title on Faust for writing more than 500 novels and stories during his 27-year writing career. But Faust didn't write for just the pulps. When pulp rates began to decline in the 1930s, Faust's work began appearing in the slicks. One of his most famous characters, Dr. Kildare, turned up in Cosmopolitan.

During the late 1930s, Faust was writing on contract for Warner Bros. and MGM studios. His work provided the basis for nearly 50 films, including Destry Rides Again, starring Jimmy Stewart, and a series of Dr. Kildare features. Kildare was also featured in a radio serial and a television series.

After only a month into his role as a war correspondent in World War II, Faust was killed during a battle in Italy. The New York Times reported, "There was no doubt that the man who wrote the Dr. Kildare series and whose name had been emblazoned on the covers of hundreds of pulp magazines for decades, was killed in action."